According to the report, Butler, who had said he wanted to be traded from the franchise, "expressed to players he would compete with them, as signs pointing to him staying with the franchise into the regular season."

Butler practiced with the team for the first time this preseason on Tuesday and according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler told T'Wolves GM Scott Layden "You (expletive) need me. You can't win without me."

Regarding the incident in practice, Butler told ESPN's Rachel Nichols, "A lot of it is true. I haven't played basketball in so long. I'm so passionate. I don't do it for any reason but to compete. All my emotion came out in one time. Was it the right way? No. But I can't control that when I'm out there competing. That's raw me, me at my finest, me at my purest. Inside the lines."

Butler expressed his want for a trade three weeks ago at the start of training camp but T'Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, in charge of finding a trade partner, had been intent on keeping Butler around. Numerous reports surrounding the trade said Minnesota had a high asking price for Butler.

The Timberwolves canceled their scheduled practice session as well as media availability on Thursday morning.